Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Here's a link to an article posted the other day on HubPages, about the history of men's legwear (e.g., pantyhose, tights, etc.). It covers the time periods in the past when tights were worn by men only, as well as the modern time period where the situation reversed itself and women became primarily associated with tights and hosiery. The article goes on to describe the current situation, where men have been taking up the fashion of wearing tights and pantyhose yet again.
Several blogs that focus on the men's legwear trend were mentioned, although a notable exception was our very own Nylon Gene, which seeks to be the most visible and up-to-date source of information on men's legwear to the rest of the world.

I just discovered that the author of the HubPages article has also launched a new blog on Blogger. It's called, "Legwear is Unisex Fasion" The author has only yet published one posting, which is the same one posted on HubPages. I'm glad to see other men taking bold steps forward to help advance the growing men's legwear trend. The more that regular guys allow their name to be associated with men's tights, the quicker it will become a 'non-issue' with others who don't wear them.

It's notable that more people are seeing fit to write on this topic all the time. Guys who were once reluctant to be associated with wearing hosiery for fear of being mis-labeled a cross-dresser are now coming forward and writing articles. That's a good sign in my book. The article's interesting reading, so I would recommend taking a look...

6 comments:

Steve you do have the most visable and up to date source on the internet that I have ever seen. I'm even a subscriber. Sorry about the ommission. Didn't mean to overlook you. Take it this way though, I was looking at the past and your site is deffinately the future! Thanks for all you do brother! jm

Steve, on some of the female blogs specializing in legwear especially tights, praise has been given to braveheart men wearing tights publicly although not as often. :)

I finally convinced my husband to try some tights on. He is afraid that he'll snag unless he practices. He bought the nylons at the grocery stores for practice. He promises to buy from your store once he is good at putting them on.

I was just reading in an article a couple of days ago that in Paris it is still against the law for women to wear trousers unless they are either holding on to the reins of a horse or holding onto bike handle bars. Obviously these laws are no longer enforced but at one point, women in Paris who wore trousers were literally in danger of being arrested by the fashion police. Scandelous! It seems that in America, men can wear tights if they are holding on to the handle bars of a bike or...?

Carla, thanks for the info. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know the name of some of those blogs, in case they're ones I haven't yet found on my own. If you would like, you could email them to me (see sidebar for my address).

Also thanks for persuading your husband to try some tights. You might also suggest he order a pair of A560s to practice on. They're what I'd call 'semi-opaque' so they're very difficult to snag or run, yet they're not fully opaque, either. And of course, we offer a 100% full refund or store credit within 10 days if not satisifed with a product you order.

Anon: Interesting tidbit about the women/trousers law in Paris. It does serve as a reminder that it wasn't all THAT long ago that society got very worked up over the prospect of women actually wearing pants! (scandalous!). Probably around the time of my mother's generation, women who wore trousers were looked at very suspiciously--much the same as men who wore tights or pantyhose were about 10 years ago. We're quicly moving to put that all behind us, but there's also a lot of progress yet to be made.

I feel that I can now wear legwear visibly with shorts just about anywhere I go, without drawing any outward signs of disapproval, but I do hear anecdotes from others that differ. Are those the product of a hyper-sensitized guy who's afraid everyone's sneering at him when in fact nothing could be further from the truth? Maybe... For every one who tells of not being able to work up the nerve to go out someplace wearing legwear with shorts, there are literally DOZENS who report the exact opposite (myself included). For those who are timid about it, I say just wear them with long pants. Who'll know?

Your Fearless Blogger

Wear Your Legwear with Confidence

Winning Hearts & Minds...

ACTIVSKIN Legwear makes a bold proposition--that support tights and sheer hose are as well-suited to men as they are to women. Men are just as likely to have tired, achy legs or need some additional warmth, but haven't had the benefit of comfortable, reasonably priced legwear--until now. ACTIVSKIN fills that gap by providing a masculine alternative. You could say we're all about changing hearts & minds--from pantyhose to mantyhose...

Media Blogroll: Legwear In The News

Read Steve's legwear articles in The Examiner

BlogCatalog

*What's This About The Nylon Gene?...

Someone once noted that, "There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who have 'the nylon gene' and those who don't." While DNA might not really be to blame, the fact is, Men's Legwear is a real phenomenom that's moved from The Fringe to The Edge and now appears poised to break into the public consciousness in bigger ways as more and more guys are now willing to at least give it a go. We at ACTIVSKIN have watched sales increase through 2008 and 2009 despite the nation's continuing financial woes.

Here at 'The Nylon Gene' we're scratching beneath the surface of the emerging men's legwear trend. We're looking to explore it from all perspectives and solicit candid opinions and critiques from those who've only just discovered there is such a thing, as well as those who have been wearing it for years. The media (TV, Radio, Print, Online...) have been paying pretty close attention of late, and we want to make sure that the complete picture is getting to our friends out there who are writing and talking about it and shaping public perceptions. So, pull up a keyboard and tell us what you think.